Shuttle tip structure



April 1, 1958 H. P. RUTHERFORD SHUTTLE TIP STRUCTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 11, 1955 a INVENTOR HENRY P RUTHERFORD BY wfifim ATTORNEYS Aprii l, 1958 H. P. RUTHERFORD SHUTTLE TIP STRUCTURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2- Filed Aug. 11, 1955 INVENTOR .Fi 7. HENRY P. RUTHERFORD ATTORNEYS Unite SHUTTLE TIP STRUCTURE Henry P. Rutherford, Homestead, Fla, assignor to Multi Corporation, Homestead, Fla., a corporation of Florida This invention relates to shuttle constructions and methods of assembly and is particularly concerned with shuttle tip structures and the manner of attaching hard wear resistant for example metal tips to the wooden bodies of shuttles.

in textile weaving machinery a supply of the woof thread is carried on a shuttle which is impelled back and forth transversely of the warp threads by picker sticks. The shuttle travel at very high speed across the warp. It is accelerated very quickly to speed at the beginning of its travel and as quickly decelerated at the end. In order to give the shuttle the necessary acceleration it must be imparted considerable energy by the picker stick which comprises a long bar that is pivoted at one end and swung so that its other end moves through an arc to impact the decelerated or stopped shuttle. Shuttles today are made of suitable hard Wood, preferably dogwood, compressed hard wood, laminated hard wood, or the like. Metal shuttles have been tried but discarded due to the attendant fire hazard whey they generate static electricity. This contact of opposite ends of the hard wood shuttle with the picker stick is such that it soon produces wear, and to resist this wear the practice is now common to provide metal shuttle tips at opposite ends of a wooden shuttle body. The present invention is chiefly concerned with arrangements for at- I taching such metal shuttle tips.

Prior to the invention the commercial practice has been to provide in each end of the solid wooden shutter body an axial bore that is surrounded in coaxial spaced relation by a cylindrical open-ended metal ferrule driven into the wood until flush with the end of the shuttle body. Then a rearwardly projecting rigid axial shank of a conical metal shuttle tip which is slightly oversize with respect to the bore is forced into the bore, usually coated with glue, and the combined action of the force fit and the glue relied upon to hold it there. The tightness of the force fit is limited because if forced too much the shuttle wood will split. Moreover since the impacting end of the picker stick swings through an arc and since the shuttle does not always stop in the same position at the end of its travel and the picker stick may not strike the conical tip centrally, the picker stick impact forces besides being axial to drive the shuttle across the warp impart lateral and bending stresses that increasingly tend to work the shuttle tip shank transversely of the bore. This soon results in wearing of the wooden walls of the bore especially when the wood is heated and causes such enlargement of the bore that the shank becomes loose and the tip falls out of the end of the shuttle body. This is enhanced by swelling and shrinkage of the wood with changing moisture conditions in the air. The normal life of a wooden-shuttle body is only a few months in an average commercial textile machine, but statistics show that the foregoing commercial type shuttle tip has a life of only about five percent of that of the shuttle body due to the combined reactions to shrinkage,.picker stick im- States Pate 2,828,773 Patented Apr. 1, 1958 pact and forcing, which means that in the usual textile apparatus considerable time is lost and expense incurred because of shutdowns to replace defective or lost shuttle tips and to repair warp damage such as may occur where a defective tip may cause the shuttle body to be improperly driven through the warp.

It is therefore the major object of the present invention to provide a shuttle having a rigid wear resistant tip life corresponding to that of the wooden body.

In practicing the invention I depart materially from the prior conventional single shank shuttle tip by producing a large number, usually three or more, attachment pins or shanks that are each of smaller diameter than the hitherto used single axial pins and are arranged in laterally spaced relation so as to provide a wide distribution of the forces incident to picker stick impact especially when the picker stick strikes the sloping side of the conical tip. Usually the larger the shuttle the more pins are provided. By providing a large enough number of pins thatsome are always disposed on opposite sides of the tip with respect to the lateral bending forces imparted by picker stick impact -I provide an arrangement wherein the pins on the impact side are stressed mainly in tension and at the same time the pins on the other side are stressed mainly in compression and the wood surrounding the pins is mainly stressed in compression which aids the holding action. These stresses moreover are mainly axially directed and do not tend to split the shuttle as in the case of the single shank shuttle tip. Furthermore the imbedded pins tend to work about in the wood when subject to such lateral forces thereby creating heat due to surface friction with the wood, and the multiple arrangement of attachment pins provides increased heat dissipation area over that available in the prior art.

It is therefore a further object of the invention to provide a shuttle end structure wherein a metal tip is attached to the end of a wooden shuttle by an adequately large number of spaced attachment pins that provide widely distributed optimum large areas of bond with the wood, and widely distribute the shock loads due to picker stick impact and dissipate the internal heat due to friction of the pins with the Wood resulting from picker impact.

The usual natural structure of wood viewed in cross section as in Figure 7 contains outwardly of the heart a series of generally concentric annular growth rings which upon inspection appear alternately light and dark depending upon the season of growth, the lighter rings representing fast spring growth and being less dense than the darker slow growing summer growth rings. These differences in density between alternate rings results in a structural weakness whereby the wood, especially dogwood, easily splits across the grain in planes generally tangentially of the annular growth rings.

The natural wood structure also contains at random many horizontally and radially extending wood rays which are generally flat tube or ribbon-like cell aggregates with their width generally parallel to the tree height, and these wood rays are meshed with long wood fibers that extend parallel to the tree height and during tree growth tend to non-uniformly displace the wood rays laterally of the tree axis, and when the wood dries and shrinks these wood rays and fibers exert forces upon each other substantially at right angles with the result that planes of weakness permitting ready generally radial splitting of the grain along the wood rays are defined.

In summary therefore the natural structure of the usual shuttle wood is that, particularly when dried, it contains major planes of ready splitting that are disposed generally tangentially and radiallyof the annular growth rings. A very important object of the invention recognizes this weakness of the wood and combats it by providing shuttle tip attachment pins that are specially orientedand inclined at small acute angles to the shuttle axis (which is perpendicular to the tree height) so as to intersect those weakness planes in the wood structure and thereby tend to hold the wood structure together. Where the shuttle is of laminated Wood strips the lamination planes are substantially longitudinal in the shuttle and the pins are oriented to intersect these planes.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel shuttle tipstructu re wherein a conical metal or equivalent hard tip is connected to the wooden body by a plurality of rearwardly directed pins that enter the body end and are disposed at acute angles to the longitudinal axis of i the shuttle.

An important part of my discovery is that by properly selecting the wooden body to have a definite grain structure or lamination arrangement which establishes definite splitting planes and by so orienting a plurality of shuttle tip attachment pins that they are disposed at small acute angles to the longitudinal axis of the shuttle the pins may extend across those splitting planes so as to actually bind the wooden structure together rather than weaken it as would be the case if the attachment pins entered the shuttle ends axially.

It is therefore an important object of my invention to provide novel attachment of a hard Wear resistant shuttle tip to the end of a wooden shuttle body wherein at least some of the shuttle tip attachment pins are disposed in the wooden body at small acute angles to the longitudinal axis of the shuttle and across the natural or laminated splitting planes defined by the wood structure.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel shuttle tip construction wherein a hard wear tip has at least one rearwardly projecting rigid attachment pin that extends into the endof the wooden shuttle body and is clinched at its lower end to hook or anchor into the wood structure to resist withdrawal and prevent separation of the tin from the body.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel shuttle tip structure wherein a hard wear resistant tip is attached to the wooden shuttle body end by a plurality of imbedded rigid rearwardly projecting pointed pins that are bent over and clinched within the wood structure so as to tightly hold the tip on the body and anchor the tip against separation from the body.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel shuttle end structure wherein an attachment pin guide and I deflect attachment pins rigid with the shuttle tip during entry into the wooden body to prevent splitting of the body.

Further objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds in connection with the annexed drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is an assembly view partially broken away and in section showing a preferred embodiment of the invention wherein the shuttle tip is attached to the wooden body by two types of fastener pins;

Figure 2 is a section on hue 22 of Figure 1 showing the location of the attachment pins;

Figure 3 is an exploded View showing the parts of the Figure 1 assembly;

Figures 4 and 5 are top and side views of the anvil for the clinched fastener pin of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary enlarged section showing how the anvil is locked against rotation during assembly of the shuttle body and tip;

Figure 7 is an illustrative perspective view in section illustrating wood structure for discussion of the invention;

Figure 8 is a diagrammatic view illustrating how the preferred wood structure block is obtained for shuttles;

Figure9 illustrates in section an embodiment of the invention wherein a combination of angularly inclined blunt end pins and a central deflected terminal pin are provided to mount the tip on the shuttle body;

Figure 10 is a bottom plan view of the tip of Figure 9 prior to assembly;

Figure 11 is a section illustrating a further embodiment where all of the tip attachment pins are of the deflected lower terminal type;

Figure l2 a bottom plan view of the tip of Figure 11 prior to assembly;

Figure 13 is a section through a shuttle end structure wherein there is provided a multiplicity of attachment pins rigid with the shuttle tip and mounted in bores generally parallel to the shuttle axis; and

Figure 14 is an enlarged fragmentary view in section showing the enlarged lower end of the pins of Figure 13.

Referring to Figures 1-6, one end of a conventional wooden shuttle body is illustrated at 11 having a transverse face 12. The internal structure of the shuttle body is not shown because it is not part of the present invention, and the other end of the shuttle body has a similarly attached tip like that at 13. The shuttle body ends are solid Wood as shown.

Tip 13 is preferably a hard metal element such as steel having an external pointed generally conical surface 14 with which the surface contour of the wooden shuttle body is matched as shown at 15.

A series of bores 16 are provided in the shuttle end opening into the face 12. These bores 16 are grouped around the central longitudinal axis of the shuttle and preferably equally spaced. Three bores 16 are shown but more may be provided according to the size and working conditions of the shuttle. Each bore 16' is inclined at a small acute angle to the longitudinal axis of the shuttle, here about 1015.

A metal fastener pin 17 is tightly frictioually mounted in each bore 16. Pin 17 has a roughened peripheral surface to obtain a tight bond with the Wooden wall of bore 16, and the illustrated pin 17 has a spiral screw thread surface whereby it is mounted in bore 16 by'a screw driver inserted in top slot 18. The upper' cnd of each pin 17 enters an opening 19 in the flat rear face 21 of tip 13 where it is disposed within aradially'open bore 22 and there bent over as shown at 23 in Figure 1 to tightly and rigidly lock it to the tip 13.

Another series of bores 24 are provided in the shuttle end also grouped about the shuttle'axis but inclined at a smaller angle, about 5-8 to that axis, three bores 24 being shown but more being provided as dictated by the demands of shuttle strength requirements. At the bottom of each bore 24 is disposed an anvil 25 which as shown in Figures 4 and 5 preferably comprises a cylindrical plug diametrically slotted across its top at 26 to provide an inclined pin terminal deflecting surface 27 between parallel upstanding ears 28.

A plurality of attachment pins 29 are provided integral or otherwise rigid with tip 13. These pins 29 are tapered and pointed at their lower terminals at 31. Before assembly pins 29 extend perpendicularly to flat rear face 21 of the tip 13. However, during assembly of the tip 13 to the shuttle body engagement of the tapered terminals 31 with the sides of bores 24 cams and bends the pins out-.

wardly at their roots so that they assume the relative angularity of bores 24 in the assembly.

Furthermore, as soon as the pointed terminals 31 of pins 29 contact anvil surfaces 27, they are deflected laterally in a direction and in a manner controlled by the location and angularity of surface 27. As illustrated in Figure 1 the terminals are directed laterally outwardly and are reversely curved to provide a hook-like anchor imbedded in the solid wood of the shuttle body when the tip 13 is advanced until face 21 contacts face 12 directly or with a suitable gasket between them as desired. The peripheral surfaces of pins 29 above the terminals 31 are preferably roughened as by knurling, corrugations, etc. and slightly oversize with respect to bores 24 for a good tight friction fit therewith.

.In assembly as tip 13 is being moved into the Figure 1 position the holes 19 are aligned with the then straight upper ends of the screw pins 17, and as soon as the surfaces 21 and 12 are in tight contact a suitable tool is inserted through bores 22 to bend over the upper ends of the screw pins. If desired glue may be used in the bores 16 and 24 to increase the bond.

The angularity of flat deflecting surface 27 is selected to suit the hardness of the wood. For harder woods the surface is disposed at larger angles with respect to the axis of the bore. In initial assembly the anvils 25 are slightly oversize so as to snugly fit down to the bottom of 1. 6 bore 24, and the direction of deflection of the pin terminals selected by a screw driver inserted in slot 26 and rotating it to proper position. Initial contact of the tapered terminals with surface 27 is with fairly light pressure but the pressures increase as the pins go deeper into the bore. In order to prevent the anvils from rotating under these pressures the tapered sides of the pin terminals spread the ears apart toward the dotted line positions of Figure 6 where they bite into the wood and anchor the anvils against rotation in the bores.

While the combined holding action of pins 17 and the deflected lower terminal pins 29 produces what I feel to be optimum holding of the tip 13 on the wooden shuttle body, there are certain shuttles whose conditions of operation are such that either a set of pins 17 alone as illustrated, or a set of pins 29 alone as illustrated, may be adequate to anchor the tip during the effective life of the wooden shuttle body.

Referring to Figures 7 and 8, the latter illustrates a log .crossasection 32 and the location of the shuttle block 33 which is sawn out of each quarter. It will be noted that two sides of the block 33 are generally tangential to the growth rings and the other two sides are generally parallel and cross the growth rings parallel to a central radius. This quarter sawing of the wood has been found to provide wooden blocks of optimum strength to resist splitting.

Figure 7 illustrates normal wood structure wherein the annular growth rings are indicated at 34, the fibers parallel to .tree height at 35 and the wood rays at 36. The wooden shuttle body structures are preferably made from quarter sawn blocks like that at 33, and the various attachment pins 17 and 29 are all so located relative to the splitting planes tangential and radially of the growth rings as to intersect those planes rather than parallel them and they thereby bind the wood structure together. For example, note that pins 29 cross the planes of growth rings indicated at 34 and the pins 17 cross the planes of rays indicated at 36 in Figure 1. This is an important aspect of the invention. By careful selection of the sawed block and proper orientation and inclination of the pins, an assembly of optimum strength and tip life may be secured.

In Figures 9 and the smooth surfaced conical metal shuttle tip 37 is provided with a series of integral or otherwise rigid pins 38 that are disposed in bores 39 inclined at small acute angles relative to the longitudinal axis of wooden shuttle body 41 much like pins 17 of Figure 1, the difference being that pins 38 are not separable from the tip. The central pin 42, about which the four blunt end pins 38 are evenly spaced, is inserted into an axial bore 43 at the bottom of which is an anvil 44 having an inclined pin deflecting surface to laterally deflect the terminal 45 of pin 42 into an imbedded anchor in the solid wood.

In this form of the invention wherein the blunt end pins 38 are initially rigid with the tip and parallel to its axis there is provided between the transverse end face of the shuttle body 41 and the tip 37 a rigid metal pin deflector plate 46 having a plurality of inclined openings 47 corresponding in number and angularity to bores 39 and a central axial bore 48. After the bores 39 and 43 are drilled in the shuttle body end the deflector plate 46 is placed thereover with its openings lined up with the bores, and the shuttle body and tip move together with the ends of the pins in the deflector plate openings. The angular openings 47 angularly deflect the outer group of pins 38 to enter bores 39 and the inner pin 42 slides freely through opening 48 and bore 43 until its tapered pointed terminal encounters the inclined anvil surface and is turned and deflected into hooking engagement with the solid wood. It will be appreciated that the manner of attachment shown in Figure 9 may be employed with or without the central pin 42 depending on the holding action desired. The wood structure and the orientation and inclination of the pins 33 are selected to intersect a maximum of splitting planes as described in the earlier embodiment.

In this embodiment the deflector plate can be eliminated if the angles of inclination of bores 39 are small, about 5 or less, in which case the bore walls will deflect the pins 38 without splitting of the wooden body. The deflector plate is usually used where the bore angles are in the approximate range of about 5 to 12. Where the angles are above 12 the deflector plate is not usually employed, but instead the separate pins of Figure l are used. The angles of inclination of the bores adapted to receive anvils to clinch the tapered terminal pins are usually always small, about 5 to 6", and need no deflector plates or separate pins.

In the embodiment of Figures 11 and 12 the shuttle tip 50 has three or more integral or otherwise rigid pointed end pins 51 that, when the tip is brought together with the end of wooden shuttle body 52, enter and are angularly deflected by bores 53 which are directed at small acute angles relative to the longitudinal axis of the shuttle. As in the other embodiments the tapered pointed pin ends engage the deflecting surfaces of anvils 54 at the bottom of the bores and are laterally deflected and reversely curled into hook form at 55 imbedded in the solid wood of the body. This embodiment is essentially the variation of Figure 1 without the screw pins 1'7 above mentioned.

In the shuttle structure of Figures 13 and 14, the end of the wooden shuttle body 56 is drilled to provide a series of three or more bores 57 grouped about the center like in Figures 11 and 12 but being parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shuttle body for receiving a corresponding number of straight parallel integral tip attachment pins 53, each having a leading end 59 somewhat oversize with respect to the bores so that as the pins are forced along the bores the walls of the bore are expanded under compression and then, although wood has very low elasticity, contract somewhat about the more slender shanks of the pins to provide an improved holding action on the tip 60 during assembly.

It will be understood that in all embodiments of the invention the pin shanks within the bores are peripherally roughened and slightly oversized to provide a good tight friction fit including screw tight fit, and they may be further aided by gluing although the invention does not require it.

In any event in all embodiments I have provided a shuttle tip attachment arrangement wherein a series of shuttle tip pins, either separate from or integral or otherwise rigid with the metal or other hard wear resistant material tips, are imbedded in the wood structure in the shuttle body end to provide a good bond with wide distribution of picker stick impact forces and attendant internal friction, and in various embodiments some or all of the pins are inclined or deflected into optimum holding and non-splitting relation with the wood structure and/ or pin terminals are deflected Within the solid wood to provide laterally or reversely bent anchors that positively prevent pull out of the shuttle tips from the body ends. The various pin arrangements may be employed in any desired combination of those illustrated in the drawing, the angularity and deflection angles varied and the number and location of pins selected all according to the wood structure of the shuttle body and the severity of the expected working conditions of the shuttle.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are: therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is:

1. In a shuttle for textile apparatus, a Wooden body having a transverse end face, a rigid hard wear resistant shuttle tip structure mounted on said end face, and means for securing said shuttle tip structure to said body com 'prising a series of rigid pins having their outer ends disposed within said shuttle tip structure and their inner ends disposed within a corresponding series of generally longitudinal straight pin receiving bores formed in said body and opening into said end face, said bores being grouped about the longitudinal axis of said shuttle and each bore being inclined at an acute angle to the longitudinal axis of said body.

2. In a shuttle for textile apparatus, a shuttle body made of wood or the like and having a transverse end face, a rigid hard generally conical wear resistant tip assembly mounted on said end face so that the adjacent surfaces of said shuttle body and tip assembly are smooth continuations of each other, a plurality of bores formed in said body entering into said end face, said bores each being inclined at a small angle to the longitudinal axis of the shuttle body and distributed about that axis, and a plurality of rigid tip assembly attachment pins extending from said tip assembly through said bores.

3. In the shuttle defined in claim l, all of said pins having a portion thereof within said wooden body laterally deflected with respect to'the longitudinal axis'of the shuttle so as to intersect the planes of normal splitting of the natural wood structure of said body.

4. In the shuttle defined in claim 3, said deflected portions comprising straight section pins within the wooden body inclined at small acute angles to the axis of the shuttle.

5. In the shuttle defined in claim 3, said deflected portions comprising laterally bent anchor terminals on said pins.

6. A shuttle end structure comprising a wooden body having a transverse end face and a plurality of relatively small diameter generally longitudinai bores opening into said end face with each bore disposed at a small acute angle with respect to the shuttle longitudinal axis, a rigid wear resistant end tip structure mounted on said body, and means for attaching said tip structure to said body comprising a plurality of rigid pins that are fixed at their outer ends to said tip structure and have their inner ends extending through said bores.

7. In the shuttle structure defined in claim 6, said pins having roughened peripheral surfaces for increased friction and holding within said bores.

8. In the shuttle end structure defined in claim 6, at least one other attachment pin fixed at its outer end to said shuttle tip structure and having its inner end laterally deformed within the solid wood structure of the body to provide a pull resistant anchor for said tip structure.

9. In a shuttle end structure, a wooden body having a transverse end face, a first plurality of small diameter blindbores each arranged at a small acute angle tofthe longitudinal axis of the shuttle and opening into said face, a second plurality of small diameter blind, bores arranged at smaller acute angles to said axis also opening into said face, a hard wear resistant shuttle tip mounted on said body end, and means for securing the tip to the body comprising a first plurality of blunt end pins fixed at their outer ends to said shuttle tip and extending straight through said first plurality of bores and a second plurality of pins fixed at their outer ends to said shuttle tip and extending through said second plurality of bores to terminate in hook-like lateral anchors imbedded in the solid wood of said body.

10. A shuttle for textile apparatus comprising a wooden body having hard Wear resistant shuttle tips secured upon opposite ends, said wooden body having its annular growth rings generally concentric to the longitudinal axis of the shuttle, and the means for securing each said shuttle tip to the end of the ,wooden body comprising a plurality of rigid pins fixed at their outer ends to said shuttle tip and extending into said wooden body at small acute angles with respect to said shuttle axis so as to intersect planes disposed radially and tangentially of said growth rings.

11. In a shuttle for textile apparatus, the combination of an elongated wooden or like shuttle body having at an end a transverse tip attachment face, a shuttle tip assembly secured on said face, a series of generally longitudinal relatively small straight bores in said body all converging at small angles to the shuttle body axis and opening into said face, said bores being mainly grouped around the longitudinal axis of said body, and a corresponding series of pins fixed at their outer ends to said shuttle tip assembly and having their inner ends tight within said bores, said pins providing large areas of bond with said wooden shuttle body and being so spaced as to provide wide distribution of laterally directed picker'stick impact forces and dissipation of internal heat due to friction within the bores.

12. A shuttle for textile apparatus comprising a wooden body having hard wear resistant shuttle tips at opposite ends, and means for securing each of said shuttle tips to said body ends comprising a plurality of rigid pins secured at their outer ends to said shuttle tip and having their inner ends imbedded within the wood structure and at least one of said pins having its inner end bent laterally to provide a hook-like anchor terminal resisting axial outwarddisplacement of said shuttle tip, at least one of said pins being threaded into its bore.

13. A shuttle for textile apparatus comprising a wooden body having hard wear resistant shuttle tips at opposite ends, and means for securing each of said shuttle tips to said body ends comprising a plurality of rigid pins secured at their outer ends to said shuttle tip andhaving 'their inner ends imbedded within the wood structure and at least one of said pins having its inner end bent laterally to provide a hook-like anchor terminal resisting axial outward displacement of said shuttle tip, at least one of said pins being separate from the tip and having its outer end projecting within and clinched to said tip.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,205,025 Balfour June is, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS 357,393 Italy Mar. 14,1938

581,532 Great Britain Oct. 16, 1946 599,089 Germany June v25, 1934 697,584 Great Britain Sept.- l, 1948 

